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Biogeography and Long-Run Economic Development

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Author Info
Olsson, Ola () (Department of Economics, School of Economics and Commercial Law, Göteborg University)
Hibbs Jr., Douglas A. (Department of Economics, School of Economics and Commercial Law, Göteborg University)

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Abstract

The transition from a hunter-gather economy to agricultural production, which made possible the endogenous technological progress that ultimately led to the industrial revolution, is one of the most important events in the thousands of years of humankind’s economic development. In this paper we present theory and evidence showing that exogenous geography and initial condition biogeography exerted decisive influence on the location and timing of transitions to sedentary agriculture, to complex social organization and, eventually, to modern industrial production. Evidence from a large cross-section of countries indicates that the effects of geographic and biogeographic endowments on contemporary levels of economic development are remarkably strong.

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Publisher Info
Paper provided by Göteborg University, Department of Economics in its series Working Papers in Economics with number 26.

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Length: 44 pages
Date of creation: 19 Jun 2000
Date of revision: 11 Aug 2000
Publication status: Published in European Economic Review, 2005, pages 909-938.
Handle: RePEc:hhs:gunwpe:0026

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Postal: Department of Economics, School of Business, Economics and Law, Göteborg University Box 640, SE 405 30 GÖTEBORG, Sweden
Phone: 031-773 10 00
Web page: http://www.handels.gu.se/econ/
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Related research
Keywords: Geography biogeography and growth; Economic development; Agricultural revolution; Institutions and growth; Plants animals and growth;

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Find related papers by JEL classification:
N10 - Economic History - - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics; Growth and Fluctuations - - - General, International, or Comparative
N50 - Economic History - - Agriculture, Natural Resources, Environment and Extractive Industries - - - General, International, or Comparative
O10 - Economic Development, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - General
O41 - Economic Development, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity - - - One, Two, and Multisector Growth Models

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References listed on IDEAS
Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
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